Sounds like things have changed. Back in the day the three Physical sciences were physics, chemistry and mathematics. Biology was considered a semi-soft science and the Social Sciences were very squishy.
I don't think mathematics was ever considered a physical science was it? Back in the day, at least in UK Universities, it was studied as a BA (Bachelor of Arts) not a BSc (Bachelor of Science). I think these days you can choose which type of degree you get. It's traditionally been regarded as an art. Bertrand Russell compared it to sculpture.
-- Updated Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:48 am to add the following --
Eluhorem:
Like a lot of "cryptic" conventions in science and math, it's just an inconvenience that these words were traditionally used, so they've been taught that way even as new and more comprehensive ideas were uncovered.
Yes, words stick. The word "atom" is a classic example. The inconvenience and confusion caused by changing the name we use for a ball of protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons outweighs the inaccuracy of still using a word that implies indivisibility.
An example from math is the convention of calling multiples of the constant i (sqrt(-1)) "imaginary", when they're anything but.
It could also be argued that
all numbers are imaginary - in the sense that they're abstract concepts, whether they're labelled as "real" or "imaginary". But I think it can also still be argued that multiplies of
i are further removed from a direct one-to-one mapping with physical objects than "real" numbers - a greater level of abstraction in a world of abstractions (mathematics). So the "real/imaginary" division is not unreasonable.
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